A chemist who was involved in Novichuk's secret Soviet nerve gas program offered his apologies to Russian dissident Alexei Navalny who, according to German authorities, fell victim to this toxic substance.

Yesterday, Saturday, Phil Mirzayinov said during an interview with the opposition station "REN TV", "I offer my deepest apologies to Nafalni for participating in this criminal industry that led to the production of the substance that poisoned him."

Mirzayinov, who is currently residing in the United States, was the first to reveal Novichok's existence in articles published in the early 1990s.

Navalny, who felt unwell during a trip to Russia on August 20, is still recovering in a Berlin hospital, where he will learn how to pronounce again since his supposed poisoning with this gas.

Moscow refused to hold it responsible for what happened, despite the results of German, French and Swedish laboratories that concluded that he had been poisoned.

Three former Soviet scientists, now over the age of 70, have publicly confirmed their participation in the manufacture of the Novichok.

be patient

"Navalny will have to be patient, but he will recover again," Phil Mirzayinov said, expecting a period of "up to a year" for recovery.

He added that the main opponent of the Kremlin probably ingested the poison, because it appears that no other people were poisoned.

On the other hand, another scientist who participated in the Novichuk industry, Vladimir Ogilv, told the Russian investigation site "Proct" that Navalny's survivor indicated that the poison was absorbed through the skin and not ingested.

People close to Navalny said they gathered evidence in the hotel room that the exhibitors were leaving in Tomsk, Siberia, just before he fell ill at the end of August.

They added that a German laboratory found traces of Novichok on a water bottle that was in his room, and it was sent to Germany.

A Russian scientist - known by state media as having worked on making a Novichuk - questioned Phil Mirzayinov's statements on Sunday.

In response to RIA Novosti's questions, Leonid Rink said that Mirzayinov was not in the group that created Novichuk, and that he therefore did not know his "biological effects".

According to Rink, opponent Navalny was not exposed to Novichok's nerve agent, because if that had happened, "he would not have survived."